Monday, September 8, 2014

My 30 favorite films.

                                            My 30 favorite films
                                         by Chris von Hoffmann                
               


                                                              1. CHINA GIRL (1987)
                                                             DIRECTOR: Abel Ferrara



                                                            2. SHORT CUTS (1993)
                                                          DIRECTOR: Robert Altman



                                                       
                                                        3. BAD LIEUTENANT (1992)
                                                           DIRECTOR: Abel Ferrara



                                                                 4. FINGERS (1978)
                                                            DIRECTOR: James Toback




                                               5. ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE (1998)
                                                           DIRECTOR: Larry Clark




                                                             6. RUMBLE FISH (1983)
                                                       DIRECTOR: Francis Ford Coppola




                                                                     7. RUSH (1991)
                                                           DIRECTOR: Lili Fini Zanuck




                                                              8. BUFFALO '66 (1998)
                                                            DIRECTOR: Vincent Gallo




                                                           9. ANGEL HEART (1987)
                                                    DIRECTOR: Alan Parker (a prince)




                                                            10. THE PLEDGE (2001)
                                                             DIRECTOR: Sean Penn





                                                       11. OUT OF THE BLUE (1980)
                                                           DIRECTOR: Dennis Hopper




                                    12. HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986)
                                                     DIRECTOR: John McNaughton





                                                           13. PARIS, TEXAS (1984)
                                                          DIRECTOR: Wim Wenders




                                                               14. REVENGE (1990)
                                                             DIRECTOR: Tony Scott




                                                           15. KILLING ZOE (1993)
                                                           DIRECTOR: Roger Avary




                                       16. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974)
                                                        DIRECTOR: John Cassavetes




                                                       17. PALE FLOWER (1964)
                                                     DIRECTOR: Masahiro Shinoda




                                                          18. RED DESERT (1964)
                                                  DIRECTOR: Michelangelo Antonioni




                                                         19. BLOOD SIMPLE. (1984)
                                                         DIRECTORS: The Coen Bros.




                                                        20. LONG WEEKEND (1978)
                                                        DIRECTOR: Colin Eggleston




                                                          21. BLUE COLLAR (1978)
                                                          DIRECTOR: Paul Schrader




                                                             22. THE SHINING (1980)
                                                          DIRECTOR: Stanley Kubrick





23. TRUE ROMANCE (1993)
DIRECTOR: Tony Scott





24. MILLER'S CROSSING (1990)
DIRECTORS: The Coen Bros. 




25. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978)
DIRECTOR: Alan Parker (a prince!)




26. LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970)
DIRECTOR: Jean-Pierre Melville




27. CRASH (1996)
DIRECTOR: David Cronenberg




28. HUSBANDS AND WIVES (1992)
DIRECTOR: Woody Allen




29. DEAD MAN'S SHOES (2004)
DIRECTOR: Shane Meadows 




30. STRAW DOGS (1971)
DIRECTOR: Sam Peckinpah














Saturday, June 21, 2014

"The Rover" review

THE ROVER (2014)
Written & Directed by
David Michod

Starring Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson and
Scoot Mcnairy


I recently saw The Rover on opening night on June 13th at the Landmark Cinema and need I remind you, it was my most anticipated of the year. More than Inherent Vice and Foxcatcher even. I've been a big supporter of Michod ever since I was first saw Animal Kingdom at Sundance 2010 and saw him speak. No one knew who he was. We all just knew Animal Kingdom was something special. Then after a couple years, I started following Blue Tongue Films, a Youtube filmmaking collective in which David Michod is a key member of.

They've put out some excellent short films varying from over the top action to slow burning drama. Michod's work fits in the slow burning drama category with his creepy, menacing coming of age short film entitled Crossbow which centered around a young boy observing a troubled family that lives next door. It was a bit strange and off with the storytelling, but that didn't matter to me. The tone and atmosphere Michod created was enough.

Now when I first saw the teaser for The Rover, I was blown away. It was exactly what I wanted it to look and feel like. Then when I saw the full trailer, I wasn't as impressed with it as I was with the teaser, but after multiple viewings, I grew to love it just as much. Then after that, I stopped watching anything else they posted. I wanted to keep as hidden from the film as possible before I saw it in full.

On to the film. The Rover centers on a very simple concept involving an ex-soldier named Eric (Guy Pearce) living in the Outback, ten years after the collapse of society who's only prized possession, his car, is taken from him by a trio of gang members after a botched robbery, which we do not see. The gang left behind one of the member's brothers named Rey (played by Robert Pattinson) who is forced by Eric to guide him across the desert to find his car.

On the surface, the story's very simplistic and just about a man trying to find his car. But being a David Michod film, there's clearly much more to it, underneath. The film is filled with subtext and menace all throughout and is always aware of the kind of film it is.

I didn't love The Rover, but I liked it a whole lot. It's certainly a different film than Animal Kingdom. What I liked about what Michod did, is that he clearly wasn't trying to top himself with The Rover. In fact, this is his first film in four years. Most early directors do something small as their first, then something big shortly after as their sophomore film. Or even do a Hollywood studio film as their sophomore, then fail miserably (i.e. Neil Blomkamp with Elysium).

What David Michod did so intelligently is he waited, and took one step at a time. So when he was ready to make his second feature, he could control it. And control he did. Never for a second does The Rover lose its way. It always remains in its slow, menacing self. It's a film that creeps up on you. A film that's its own beast. Unlike any film of this nature you've seen before. The sound design (brilliantly done by Sam Petty), cinematography and music all do an amazing job supporting the film's story which there is very little of.

However, despite all the great technical aspects about the film, the true standouts are the two leads, Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. Pearce doing what he does best, playing that quiet man with so much buried underneath his eyes and so much explosive emotion struggling to burst out any second. And Pattinson in a star making performance playing a simple minded redneck thinking he's tougher than he really is.

Overall, The Rover is a strong, solid film that I'd highly recommend and as of now is one of my favorite films of 2014. It's more of an experience than anything. It's more than just a film. It's one of those films in which when the credits roll, you ask yourself, 'What did I just watch?' Which can be a good or bad thing. In this case, for me, it was a very, very good thing.

Bravo Mr. Michod. You continue to impress me and you are now on my radar for every film you direct.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Favorite Films of 2012

FAVORITE FILMS OF 2012


1. "The Master"

Written & Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson

A fascinating and exhausting character study revolving around a mentally unstable caveman-like Naval Veteran back from the war who's taken under the wing of a charismatic, yet volatile cult leader.
****


2. "Silver Linings Playbook"

Written & Directed by
David O. Russell

Based on the Novel by
Matthew Quick

A film that has it all and then some. Hilarity, rough drama, fiery romance, and De Niro as the best he's been since "Flawless," back in '99.
****


3. "Killer Joe"

Directed by William Friedkin

Written by Tracy Letts

Based on the Play

Brace yourself. This film is a nonstop roller coaster with some of the finest writing since "Pulp Fiction" and one of the best, most overlooked performances of the year (Matthew McConaughey in the title role) as a mentally disturbed Texan detective who moonlights as a Hit Man. The final twenty minutes will scar you for life. In a good way.    
****


4. "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Directed by Benh Zeitlin

Written by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin

Based on the Play, "Juicy & Delicious"

One of the most powerful and enchanting films of the year, centering on a young girl named Hush Puppy, who's forced to learn about courage and love, while taking care of her hot-tempered father's fading health. A MUST SEE. If anything, for the visuals and performance from Quvenzhane Wallis.
***


5. "Zero Dark Thirty"

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Written by Mark Boal

You know exactly what happens in the end, but somehow Bigelow holds you on the edge of your seat for the entire 157 minutes. Unbelievable performances all around and a "NO BS" attitude that will keep you hooked in and stay put.



6. "The Comedy"

Directed by Rick Alverson

Written by Rick Alverson, Robert Donne &
Colm O'Leary

One of the major surprise hits for me this year. A strange, art film with two of the funniest people on the planet, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (at least, in my opinion) tackling real life issues, in their own, twisted kind of way. A stellar companion piece to Lars Von Trier's "The Idiots." SEE THIS MOVIE, I BEG OF YOU.    
***


7. "Rust and Bone"

Directed by Jacques Audiard

Written by Jacques Audiard & Thomas
Bidegain

Incredibly moving (and at times, hard to watch) cautionary tale of a young man who moves to Antibes with his son and forms an unusual friendship with a whale trainer, who's been involved in a horrific accident that changes both their lives forever. No words can describe how good this film was.
****


8. "Jack Reacher"

Written & Directed by
Christopher McQuarrie

Based on the book, "One Shot"
by Lee Child

A surprise hit for me. Trailers never really struck me as something to look for, but I was pleasantly and heavily surprised by how much fun this movie really is. Different than most action films. Much more of a Mystery/Thriller than a typical genre piece. Either way, it's an absolute blast and it truly cements Cruise in the "Hall of Awesome."  
***


9. "The Grey"

Directed by Joe Carnahan

Written by Joe Carnahan &
Ian Mackenzie Jeffers

Based on the "Short Story" by
Ian Mackenzie Jeffers

Joe Carnahan's finest film to date. An absolute nail biter filled with some of the best performances of the year, especially Dermot Mulraney and Liam Neeson. INCREDIBLE. Great companion piece to Lee Tamahori's "The Edge" from 1997. Just... with Wolves instead of a Grizzly Bear.
***


10. "Flight"

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Written by John Gatins

Denzel's finest performance since maybe... "Man on Fire...?" And that was 2004. And guess what! He's not playing a Cop this time! This time it's a alcoholic airplane pilot who saves several people in the midst of a horrific plane crash. But was he drunk during take off...? Zemeckis sure went for a hard R with this and did an excellent job, but the screenplay is one of the best of the year.
***

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

"Django Unchained" review

"Django Unchained"


Written & Directed by
Quentin Tarantino


Now when I first read that QT was writing/directing a spaghetti western-like epic with Leonardo DiCaprio as the main villain, I was definitely intrigued.

I am one of the few defenders out there for QT and really appreciate a lot of his work and even consider Kill Bill the finest thing he's ever done, considering it was incredibly well written, fast paced, disciplined with the editing, great performances, amazing action sequences, and beautifully photographed. The first film of his that he finally starts playing around with the camera in a big, bad way.

However, when the trailers and TV spots started to erupt all over the internet, I was shocked at how horrible the film looked. I had seen several pictures on IMDb for a while and heard a lot of things about the chaotic production, but the trailers blew me away in the worst kind of way.

They were so unbelievably different than what I expected them to be. And James Brown's "Playback" blasting in almost every single trailer? COME ON, QT...

I was still intrigued to see it though. I mean, it can't be that bad. It's gonna HAVE to have some amazing moments. QT's not quite that big of a hack just yet... But I was wrong. DEAD WRONG.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a private screening of Django Unchained last night at the Director's Guild of America in Hollywood and catch the film on the building's biggest screen, out of their three.

The film opens with a long overture with the curtains down. Not many people in the audience even seemed to care, but I did. I was like, "Okay Quentin. You're already off to a bad start." He just won't accept that, that sort of genre of filmmaking is dead and no matter how much he tries to bring back that affect, it'll keep hurting him and he'll lose more fans.

Then the film begins its opening title sequence with its flashy big red lettering. Jamie Foxx is being hauled through the desert with the other slaves, much like the opening scene in the trailers.

Eventually he meets Christoph Waltz's character, who comes riding in on a ridiculous Buggie with a giant Tooth attached to the top, dangling.

Waltz plays a former dentist turned bounty hunter, Dr. King Shultz. He rescues Django (Jamie Foxx), after blowing away a couple rough house white owners (James Remar and James Russo). Shultz is on a job to find a trio of brothers, called The Brittles, but doesn't know what they look like, but Django does, so they team up to find them and Shultz buys Django's slavery and gives him his freedom. Now in return, Django and Shultz team up for a second mission to find Django's kidnaped wife from its plantation owner, Calvin Candie. And thus, we have our silly revenge movie.

The film starts to unfold in a series of events that sort of shape Shultz and Django and form their friendship, which, to me was never very interesting.

Django Unchained is definitely QT's most action packed film since Kill Bill, but it was missing all that QT trademark. I didn't really feel like I was watching a QT film until DiCaprio's character, Calvin Candie, shows up. A wonderfully hypnotising introduction where Candie is simply puffing on a cigarette, sitting on his couch, while a very violent and extreme Mandingo match takes place.

All the performances for me were very ridiculous and never were enjoyable, except DiCaprio, who seriously was the only most consistently entertaining character in the entire three hour film. Yes. The film's almost three hours, clocking in at 165 minutes. QT's longest film to date, if you don't consider Kill Bill chocked together as a whole.

The violence, or shall I say gore, is completely gratuitous to be honest, quite boring. With all the constant shootouts and constant gunfire, I'm thinking, "When is this gonna end???" It wasn't done cleverly, or different. Nothing special. Which upsets me, cause knowing how much QT loves spaghetti westerns, he had an opportunity to make one of the best westerns ever made, but of course, like he did with the slasher and WW2 genre... he blew it.

Quentin's use of the N word, though used DOZENS of times, is never done in a smart way, and just became lazy writing. I believe this to be one of his worst scripts, in my opinion. None of his signature on the film, boring camera shots, obnoxious dialogue/violence, wooden performances. Especially Kerry Washington, who've I've never liked in the first place, but she was awful. ANNOYING. SO ANNOYING.

Tons of stuff happens, but nothing is interesting or exciting. However, I think you should definitely go see the film for yourself and form your own opinion. When I saw it with a packed house last night they seemed to love it. They were laughing constantly, but I wasn't. Laughed maybe twice.

The film is NOT a Drama/Western, like IMDb says, but a Comedy/Western. They're's literally NO drama in the entire film. It felt like a big, bright spoof in the vein of Blazing Saddles than something like Unforgiven.

The film's a mess, but thank God I have Steve McQueen's Twelve Years a Slave to fall back on.

P.S.: And just when I thought Quentin's cameos in his own films couldn't get any more horrible and pathetic, he just goes ahead and makes himself an Australian cowboy towards the end of the film. JUST HORRIBLE!!!!!!

This film cements QT in the "Hall of Hacks."

Please retire before you damage another genre. Thank you.



Sincerely,
Filmboy


QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"If I wasn't a filmmaker, I'd be a film critic. It's the only thing I'd be qualified to do."
- Quentin Tarantino




Friday, December 7, 2012

"The Master" review

"The Master"

Written & Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson


If you're a Paul Thomas Anderson fan, then you're well aware, at this point, that he loves making his fans wait an enormous amount of time for his next film. Between Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood, it was five years. And now between TWBB and The Master, it's been yet another five years.

I am a huge fan of PTA and consider him to be the greatest director of his generation, and of the last twenty years he's been making films.

Now when I read that PTA was working on a script loosely based on Scientology and the workings of L. Ron Hubbard, I was ecstatic. When I found out he was teaming up with Philip Seymour Hoffman for a fifth time, using PSH to play the L. Ron Hubbard inspired character, I was threw the roof. And when I finally saw the first teaser that PTA himself, cut together, that simply involved Joaquin Phoenix's demented character being interviewed by a V.A. Doctor, spliced with scenes of him on the beach and carving, I was in the clouds. The excitement was overbearing and my expectations were higher than they've ever been for anything.

Now, unfortunately, the first time I viewed The Master, it was NOT a 70MM print, but a digital projection. Which I was very upset about, but I just didn't care at that point. I just needed to see this film, no matter what. Thankfully, I was able to see it two more times, those times, in delicious 70MM.

The film is PTA's most emotionally exhausting film to date. And the heaviest on character and the weakest on plot narrative. When the film's over, you feel dizzy. Literally.

Now many people have been complaining a great deal about the lack of narrative and character development, but if you know PTA's past films, he's an expert at character development and beautifully structured narrative, so I never believed those criticisms to be legitimate. He knew what he was doing.

My theory on why it didn't seem to make much sense and has no development, was because, well. In a way, Scientology doesn't really make much sense. Nor does religion, itself. Or life, for that matter. Everything is sloppy in our existence. And sometimes people don't change. This is more of an experimental navigation into one's psyche, then a traditional narrative film. Which I respect.

For those of you who haven't seen the film at this point (Shame on you by the way...), nor do you even know the storyline. It centers on a young Naval veteran (played by a returning Joaquin Phoenix in a game changing performance) as Freddie Quell who comes back from the war, very unsettled about his life and his future. He eventually jumps onto a Yacht where a mysterious party is taking place and this is where he meets The Master, himself. Lancaster Dodd (played by the always brilliant, Philip Seymour Hoffman), who takes him under his wing and introduces him to his fact based religion, known as The Cause.

Freddie is reluctantly thrown into several physical and mental exercises to serve as his initiation into the religious "family," that also consists of Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Rami Malek, and Jesse Plemons. All give wonderful performances, but Amy Adams takes the cake, as Lancaster's subtle, but tough wife and co-leader.

The film is made up of a bunch of amazing scenes/sequences, but no destination. It plays out like one giant arc. Which, from a screenwriter's POV, that's a big no, no. But I loved it.

PTA breaks all the rules of traditional storytelling and doesn't make a single apology about it. The film clocks in at 144 minutes and doesn't quite hold the story to warrant that length, but it flew by for me. Considering how hypnotising the entire film is and that the wonderfully crafted use of 70MM film was so amazing to witness. Makes you wish more directors shot in that format. Hopefully a film of this scale, will open other directors' eyes.

The film is an actor's piece, without question. Joaquin Phoenix is unlike any performance you've ever seen before. From beginning to end, he IS Freddie. It's scary. All throughout, you're on the edge of your seat, waiting for something to happen. The film is extremely tense and very unpredictable.

One of the major stand out scenes, which just goes to show how brilliant PTA is, just doing basic two shots and OTS, with two actors speaking to each other, is when Master asks Freddie to keep his eyes open and answer a series of emotional questions without blinking. It was set at a perfect point in the story where you're sort of waiting for that intensity to rise, and then all of a sudden this scene comes at you like a bullet.

If there is a criticism, I'd have to say, I was a bit curious as to what PTA was trying to say with this film. If he was trying to say anything. However, that wasn't enough for me to dislike it in the slightest.

I'll admit when I finished it the first time, I was a bit underwhelmed. I knew I liked it, but wasn't sure what level it was at. Then I went to bed, but couldn't sleep. Was tossing and turning. Then I woke up at 7A.M. the next morning, and realized it was one of the finest films of the year, if not, the best. And one of the most astonishing character studies ever put on screen.

Bravo to everyone involved.



Sincerely,
Filmboy


QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Observancy is a dying art." - Stanley Kubrick

"Killing Them Softly" review

"Killing Them Softly"

Written & Directed by
Andrew Dominik

Based on the Novel, "Cogan's Trade"
by George V. Higgins


Now when I read that Andrew Dominik was setting out to write and direct a new American crime film with Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Richard Jenkins, I was threw the roof. Considering, he made one of my all-time favorite films of 2007 and of the last decade, The wonderfully crafted, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Which was more of a psychological Charles Dickens-esque take on the American western. From the moment the unique opening sequence kicked in explaining Jesse James, you knew you were in for something special.

Now Dominik is simply a director who does not like to work very often. His first film, Chopper, was an exciting, interesting, but also a heavily flawed debut back in 2000, with Eric Bana in the title role. Then Jesse James came out seven years later. Now, five years later, in 2012, we have his latest film, Killing Them Softly, which is based on the 70s set novel, Cogan's Trade.

The story centers on two dumb criminals who think they're smarter than they are, Frankie and Russell (played by Argo's Scoot McNairy and Animal Kingdom's Ben Mendelsohn), who work for a shady fella named Johnny Amato (played by Johnny Sac himself, Vincent Curatola).

Long story short, Johnny assigns the two crooks to rob a mob protected poker game, run by local mobster, Markie Trattman (played by the underrated Ray Liotta, in one of his best performances to date). They consider the job to be foolproof, considering Markie had robbed his own poker game a while back and blabbed about it, when he was drunk, to a bunch of his friends, thus putting the word out there, that he was in on it. So now, they think that once they rob the game, they'll immediately get away with it, because everyone will immediately point fingers at Markie, and Frankie and Russell will get off, scot free. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? No. Things go bad. REAL BAD.

Once the game is robbed, which was quite possibly the best scene in the entire movie (the suspense was astonishing), they call in local enforcer, Jackie Cogan (played by a super cool, Brad Pitt, in a not so super convincing performance), to investigate the robbery and essentially clean up house.

Now as the film unfolds and all the colorful characters dip in and out of each other's lives, we start to be bombarded with a very obnoxious political message, serving as commentary over the 2008 financial, economic meltdown. I mean, if I were to see one more television in a bar playing Obama or George Bush talking at a podium...

The political message takes no time to jam it down our throats. From the very unique, though a bit annoying, opening title sequence to literally, the final shot in the movie, it is thrown at us. And not in a clever way.

The dialogue and the acting are the strongest elements of the film. James Gandolfini plays a fascinating 3-dimensional Hit Man, who used to be quite the big shot and somewhat of a hero in the eyes of Jackie, but has hit rock bottom due to too much drinking and depression. So pretty much if Tony Soprano was a Hit Man. However, he was one of my favorite characters in the entire film. And he barely did anything, but talk to Jackie. Now that's acting.

Ben Mendelsohn and Scoot McNairy have the most hilarious scenes in the film. They're banter back to back about women, drugs, and previous jobs, are quite amusing to watch. Ben Mendelsohn sure does play mentally unstable quite well.

You can say the film is a black comedy, but really. With the exception of a few humurous lines of dialogue from Brad Pitt and Gandolfini, only Mendelsohn and McNairy serve as the comic relief.

The major acting standout for me though, was Mr. Ray Liotta. A major change of pace from the usual tough guy, hard hitting characters he's been playing ever since 1986's Something Wild. Liotta sure does take quite the beating throughout and the film makes no apologies for any of it.

The violence is also fascinating to watch. Dominik literally builds sequences around the violence cut together with a very unusual, kinetic soundtrack consisting of everything from Johnny Cash to The Velvet Underground.

Yes, many things annoyed me about this film. Yes, too many things were overdone. And yes, Brad Pitt was a little unconvincing as a tough guy gangster, but all in all. I enjoyed the film a great deal. Every single frame is so unbelievably unique and well crafted. Dominik loves to take a certain commercial genre and just flip it on its head and do a whole different spin on it. He did with the Biopic genre with Chopper, the Western genre with Jesse James, and now with the Crime genre with KTS. And for that, I commend him, whether it's a misfire or not, you have to respect him for not being traditional.

KTS is by no means for everyone. This is a film built mainly for film aficionados. The violence is few and far in between, but it's worth it when it happens.

Put it this way. If you love Drive, you'll like KTS.


Sincerely,
Filmboy


QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"The only way you can learn from making films is by making them, by putting your stamp on them." - Stephen Frears (director of The Hit and The Grifters)

"The Collection" review

"The Collection"

Directed by Marcus Dunstan

Written by Marcus Dunstan &
Patrick Melton


The Collection is, at least for me, the long awaited sequel to one of the finest horror films of the last decade, The Collector. Which was a stripped down, no frills, character based horror film centered on the petty thief, Arkin (played by the underrated Josh Stewart), who is in serious debt, and is forced to rob his new Employer's mansion, but soon discovers a second criminal has already infiltrated the house with booby traps, holding the family captive. Arkin is then forced to decide whether he's going to escape with his life and the money or save the family. He decides to play hero and save them. Thus, we have... The Collector.

Now The Collection is pretty much a sequel to The Collector, like Aliens was a sequel to Alien. The Collector was a character piece with a decent amount of thrills and chills. The Collection is an action piece with non stop blood and gore and a body count that would make Hershell Gordon Lewis proud.

Now the premise of The Collection centers on the young character of Elena (played by Emma Fitzpatrick from The Social Network and In Time), who, along with her two friends, head to an underground club to go dancing. You know. One of those scary clubs where some tattooed guy with way too many piercings answers the door and asks for a password?

The film takes absolutely no time at all to get to the action. They have a very cool intro to the wild club. And before you know it, BAM! The Collector unleashes his horrifying booby traps inside the club and unloads on all the unlucky club goers.

Elena is eventually kidnapped by The Collector, thrown in his crate, and taken to his layer. This is where the film connects to the original. Where Elena's rich father (played by Shooter McGavin himself, Christopher McDonald) blackmails Arkin to help him and a set of elite mercenaries rescue Elena from the Collector's layer.

Thus... we have our popcorn movie. Mercenaries bust in with their enormous machine guns and bad things start to happen.

Now The Collection is in by no means, a great film. But it sure is a fun time at the movies and definitely wildly entertaining. I didn't expect much going into a film like this, but what I did respect is that the sequel was written/directed by the same fellows who created the original. Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, who created the Feast franchise and even wrote a few Saw sequels. However, I believe, The Collector to be the finest, most mature film they've ever written.

The Collection is pretty much Saw on meth. It's action packed, never skips a beat. Some of the dialogue is laughable. A couple characters are ridiculously over the top. The climax is quite cartoonish, and several moments make you wonder, "What the hell were you thinking???"

But you know what? I enjoyed it. Is it better than the first? Not by a long shot, nor did it want to be. Dunstan and Melton really just wanted to have fun with this one and make a completely different kind of a movie, which is totally fine with me, if it's done well. And, in my opinion, this one was.

Horror movies were my entry into movie loving, so I'll respect any R rated horror movie that keeps me thirsting for more. I look forward to the third one in the series, The Collected.



Sincerely,
Filmboy


QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"That's the problem. It's hard to release an NC-17 anywhere right now. It's like you don't have access to theatres to many multiplexes. And I understand that cuts had to be made to my movie." (On his debut film, High Tension) - Alexandre Aja